Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of sustaining life, especially through nourishment: "sustenance" refers to the process of maintaining life, typically by providing food or other essential support.
   • Food or nourishment that supports life: It can mean the actual food or drink that provides the nutrients needed for life and health.
   • The means of maintaining life or existence; livelihood: "Sustenance" also denotes the financial or material resources required to support one's life and basic needs.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The refugees desperately needed food and sustenance.
  • He derived intellectual sustenance from reading great books.
  • Her job provided the sustenance for her family.

Advanced Usage

• "spiritual/emotional/intellectual sustenance": Nourishment or support for non-physical aspects of a person.
  • The community offered her emotional sustenance during her grief.
• "means of sustenance": The resources required for survival.
  • Farming was their primary means of sustenance.

Variants and Related Words

• Sustain (verb): To strengthen or support physically or mentally; to keep alive.
  • A good meal can sustain you for the long journey.
• Sustainable (adjective): Able to be maintained or continued over the long term.
  • We need to find sustainable sources of energy.

Synonyms

• Nourishment: Food necessary for growth, health, and good condition.
• Livelihood: A means of securing the necessities of life.
• Subsistence: The action or fact of maintaining or supporting oneself, especially at a minimal level.
• Support: Assistance that enables someone or something to function or exist.

Related Phrases

• "source of sustenance": The origin or provider of necessary support.
  • The river was a vital source of sustenance for the village.
• "in want of sustenance": Lacking the necessary food or support to live.
  • The lost hikers were in want of sustenance.

Related Idioms

• "Daily bread": A metaphor for one's basic sustenance or livelihood.
  • He worked hard to earn his daily bread.

Noun

1. the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence
   • they were in want of sustenance
   • fishing was their main sustainment
2. the financial means whereby one lives
   • each child was expected to pay for their keep
   • he applied to the state for support
   • he could no longer earn his own livelihood
3. a source of materials to nourish the body